Mekedatu Dam Project

Why in news?

• The Mekedatu dam project, located in the Ramanagaram district of Karnataka, has sparked a long-running dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

About Mekedatu:

• Mekedatu is a location along Kaveri in the border of Chamarajanagar and Ramanagara Districts in Karnataka.
• At Mekedaatu, the Kaveri runs through a deep, narrow ravine of hard granite rock.

About the project:

• Karnataka intends to build a reservoir across river Cauvery near Mekedatu.
• It was first proposed in 2003 with an intention to use the water for a hydro power station and supply drinking water to Bengaluru city.
• The project cost is estimated at 9,000 crore.

Dispute over the project:

• Tamil Nadu has all along strongly opposed the project and approached the Supreme Court as well.
• Tamil Nadu’s argument is that any dam proposal by upper riparian states in the Cauvery basin would deprive the state's delta farmers of their rightful share of water as per the top court verdict.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Mekedatu project, recently in news, is a proposed project in

(a) Karnataka

(b) Tamil Nadu

(c) Andhra Pradesh

(d) Telangana

Answer